What is an example of a biological indicator used in the sterilization process?

What is an example of a biological indicator used in the sterilization process?

• A. Bacillus subtilis spores
• B. Bacillus atrophaeus spores
• C. Escherichia coli
• D. Clostridium perfringens

Answer: (B)

Bacillus atrophaeus spores are commonly used as a biological indicator in the sterilization process due to their robust and resilient nature. These spores are particularly useful because they can withstand high levels of heat and other sterilization methods, making them an ideal reference for verifying the effectiveness of sterilization processes, such as steam, ethylene oxide, and hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization. When the sterilization cycle is complete, the biological indicator is processed to check for any growth of the spores. If no growth is detected, it indicates that the sterilization process was effective in killing the microbial spores, confirming the reliability of the sterilization method used. In contrast, other microorganisms listed, such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens, do not serve the same purpose in this context as they are not typically used as biological indicators due to their more significant susceptibility to sterilization, thus providing less reliable results for testing sterilization efficacy. Bacillus subtilis spores are also significant; however, Bacillus atrophaeus is more commonly utilized in standardized biological indicator tests because it is easier to handle and has been widely accepted in the industry standards for sterilization monitoring.

Bacillus atrophaeus spores are commonly used as a biological indicator in the sterilization process due to their robust and resilient nature. These spores are particularly useful because they can withstand high levels of heat and other sterilization methods, making them an ideal reference for verifying the effectiveness of sterilization processes, such as steam, ethylene oxide, and hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization.

When the sterilization cycle is complete, the biological indicator is processed to check for any growth of the spores. If no growth is detected, it indicates that the sterilization process was effective in killing the microbial spores, confirming the reliability of the sterilization method used.

In contrast, other microorganisms listed, such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens, do not serve the same purpose in this context as they are not typically used as biological indicators due to their more significant susceptibility to sterilization, thus providing less reliable results for testing sterilization efficacy. Bacillus subtilis spores are also significant; however, Bacillus atrophaeus is more commonly utilized in standardized biological indicator tests because it is easier to handle and has been widely accepted in the industry standards for sterilization monitoring.